While here in Philadelphia we continue to debate which journalism does or doesn't go online right away, a horde of Internet Mongolians may be poised to topple us from outside of our walled city. That would be the Huffington Post, which this week launched a new Web site devoted strictly to local news in the city of Chicago. You can see it here. They plan to bring this to other cities, and although I honestly have no inside information, I would imagine that Philadelphia is high on its to-do list, because of the large population here, the day-to-day struggles of the local newspapers, and the high blogging quotient around these parts.
On the surface, the Huffington Post Chicago isn't radically different in look or impact from local newspaper Web sites like Philly.com. But there are three critical differences: 1) HPC highlights the best local news from a variety of sources, including not just Chicago's two daily papers but also its magazines, weeklies, business journals and TV and radio stations and 2) it does that with just one -- count 'im, one! -- staff employee and 3) the staffer's work is augmented by bloggers willing to come to the site and post for free.
Now that's a business plan! In contrast, the work that you read on a Philly.com was collected by a large staff of paid journalists, many making at least $65,000 a year or more. Is that really fair that HPC then posts the same kind of local news for free? Not really, but these are the rules of the Internet as society has allowed them to unfold, and rules are meant to be exploited. Now, there's a lot of controversy about how HP doesn't pay its bloggers, but the bottom line again isn't what you or I think about that, but whether such people exist. Trust me, they do. There are plenty of people who want free exposure, sometimes for a cause, often for themselves (one example: A writer promoting a new book.) I predict there'll be no shortage of free bloggers at HPC.
There is one huge problem with the model, however. With all its unfair built-in advantages, Huffington Post Chicago could actually help push one or even both of Chicago's daily newspapers -- both struggling mightily for different reasons -- right to the brink of extinction. And if that happened, HPC would ultimately be shooting itself in the foot. If the Chicago Tribune disappeared, so would half of the actual news the Huffington Post now highlights.
In other words, the Huffington Post and the newspapers need each other. I can understand why there's an initial wait-and-see attitude, and I have no idea what the specifics of cooperation might be. But if HPC does well, I think either Sam Zell or Arianna Huffington needs to pick up the phone and say, "We need to talk."
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You have to wonder... how will huffpo spin one of the most corrupt, wasteful, criminal Democratic machines in the US into a good thing? I have no idea, but they will try!— bon- Comment removed.
I wonder if Will would be as open minded to this idea if it were Little Green Footballs instead of the Huffington Post? At least the local HP bloggers will be able to wish cancer on local Republicans, instead of just focusing their ill will on the Bush Administration.— jmc- You neo-cons need to go back to reading your comic books.— AHiredGun
Face it Will. The newspaper is dead, but journalism isn't. HuffPo's project is merely a way station to the inevitable transformation of your trade.- Comment removed.
- Huffington Post will expand market for internet newspapers, not contract it. HUFFPO is a left wing political news rag anyway. ...And a good one at that, even if I don't agree with it most of the time.— Peter of Manassas
- Inevitable transition? So, instead of real news, we will get the tyoe of drivel posted here as fact? Just the kind of future I want to see. Then again, most of the posters here believe everything they read on line as fact, especially the righties. We've seen how the media has let this country down over the last eight years especially. Remember that Jeffeson said he would favor a free press over anything else.— mike l
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- ET shut up you are a moron.— ObamaHATER
- Huff N Puff another "UNBIASED NEW SOURCE'..lol .. why bother with middleman just put effen DNC direct ?— mookie
- I am shocked that they didn't use either Odorman or bunch's fav.. dailykos. lol.. journalism = legal prostitution for political gain— mookie
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- We're headed back to the good ol' days of Republican and Democrat 'newspapers' when they didn't even try to hide their bias like CNN, NY Times, and all the major opinion (oh, sorry 'news') networks. Put the Inquirer on that list too. Ordinary folks will be forced to, get this... think and research (!) on their own, instead of being spoon fed the opinions of these charlatans of 'journalism' spreading their liberal perspectives under the guise of Truth.— rjhpsu85
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
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